The boats to which this invention is applicable are commonly known as rigid-hull inflatable boats. These boats are characterized by an inflatable tube which extends around at least a portion of the perimeter of the boat to form the sidewall thereof. Many methods of attaching the tube to the hull and/or deck are known. Some methods provide a removable attachment while others are permanent. Removable attachments are preferred since they permit repair and replacement of the tube without the need for a major overhaul of the boat.
One type of removable attachment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,751 (Cigognetti) where the inflatable tube is provided with a reinforced panel through which screws are threaded. These screws are screwed into the hull or deck of the boat in order to attach the inflatable tube to the boat. The attachment means also employs an arcuate strap which serves to keep the screws from loosening during use of the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,301 (Harding) discloses a means for attaching tubes to inflatable boats. The tube is secured to the hull of a rigid inflatable boat by a rigid plate which is retained at the outside of the tube by means of a pocket fastened to the tube. A screw is anchored in the rigid plate and secured to a flange of the hull to thereby fasten the tube to the hull.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,854 (Harding) also discloses a means of securing inflatable tubes to rigid hulls. An edge portion of the hull is clamped between flexible flanges which are secured to the inflatable tube using comparatively rigid clamping strips. The clamping strips are pressed together by a releasable securing arrangement passing through the gunwale of the hull such as nuts and bolts spaced along the strips. Tightenable straps anchored by the bolts may be added for extra security.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,213 (Smith) also discloses a means for securing tubes to inflatable boats. Smith discloses a securing means which employs toggle stop means such as a three-bar buckle borne on flexible tags attached to the tube. The toggle stop means is rotatable so as to be passable through apertures in the hull and to engage the hull and prevent such passage. Inflation of the tube causes positive urging of the stop means toward such engagement.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,413 (Cochran) also discloses a releasable attachment means for attaching inflatable bladders to the hull of a boat. The hull includes apertures through which a portion of the inflatable bladder is passed when in the deflated condition. Upon inflation of the bladder, the portion which passed through the aperture in the hull also inflates to thereby secure the bladder to the hull. The bladders may also be provided with interlocking end structures to stabilize the positions of the bladders with respect to each other and the hull.
All of the foregoing securing means are difficult to employ and some of them require additional stabilizing structures and/or a large number of screws or other fastening means in order to attach the inflatable tube to the deck of a boat. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a simplified means for joining the inflatable tube to the hull and/or deck of the boat such that it can be easily removed for repair or replacement. Further, there is a need in the art for a means which provides an easy method for removing the inflatable tube such that the repair or replacement operation can be accomplished in a short time without special tools or difficult manipulations.
These and other objects of the present invention will be described in the summary in detailed descriptions which follow.